Combined display and shipping device



' Jan. 25, 1944.

S. G. SILBERSTEIN COMBINED DISPLAY AND SHIPPING DEVICE Filed March 18,1943' 2 Sheets-She et l Fig.4

IN VEN TOR.

5. cs. SILBERSTEIN 2,340,148 COMBINED DISPLAY AND SHIPPING DEVICE FiledMarch 18,1943 2 Sheets-Shegt 2 I I l W F1 1 41 41/ 25 Z5 m 1 ,6 14 g 405 25/5 2 -25 ,5 I9 fil 1 5'! 30 29 3 53 Patented Jan. 25, 1944 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINED DISPLAY AND SHIPPING DEVICE SydncyG.Silberstein, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application March 18, 1943, Serial No.479,673

6 Claims.

vision of a display device for different kinds of merchandise, havingmeans for hearing advertising indicia and for retaining the merchandisein distinguishing sections, with the device being capable of beingcompletely collapsed into flat form for shipment and being adapted to beassembled into a durable, rugged structure with a minimum ofmanipulation.

Another object of the invention is to furnish a stepped, knock-downdisplay device which is capable of being used as a merchandise-shippingelement, with the merchandise set up in display position therein.

Another object of the invention is to'provide a device of the nature setforth comprising a stepped, knockdown, merchandise dispenser and ashipping box for which the dispenser provides a closure so thatmerchandise in the package produced is retained in display positionduring shipment.

Another object of the'invention is to provide a display of thetypementioned having improved means for holding on edge a plurality ofthin articles in such a manner that they shall not tend to fall overespecially if some of the articles are removed.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe specification proceeds.

With the aforesaid objects in view; the invention consists in the novelcombinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described in theirpreferred embodiments, pointed out in the subjoined claims, andillustrated on the annexed drawings, wherein like parts are designatedby the same reference characters throughout the several views.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a View in front elevation showing a display device embodyingthe invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22, of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1, but with a toprear display portion folded over, and the display device housed in acarton to form a merchandise shipping package embodying the invention,the merchandise therein being indicated in dot-dash lines.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the display device, with a part brokenaway.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the shipping package.

Fig. 6 is a view in front elevationshowing a modified display device,with parts in section.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional "view taken on line 7-1 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 88' of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a blank for the main section of the displaydevice of Fig.1.

Thev advantages of the inventionas here outlined are best realized whenall of its "features and instrumentalities are combined in one and "thesame structure, but, useful devices may be produced embodying less thanthe whole.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this inventionappertains, that the same may be incorporated in several difierentconstructions. The accompanying drawings, therefore, is submitted merelyas showing the preferred exemplification of the invention.

Referring in detail to the drawings, I0 denotes a two piece displaydevice embodying the invention. One of these pieces is provided by theblank ll of Fig. 9, and the other piece may consist of a tubular shelfforming element I2 shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Without limitation theretothe specific structure is best described by first referring to the blankI I and employing like reference numerals for like parts in theassembled display device H) and in the blank II. The latter is adaptedto be formed into a tube by pasting an end portion l3 to an end flap M.This tube may provide a front wall I5, side walls I6, I! and a back sidewall l8 defined by upright, vertical fold lines 19, 20, 2| and 22. Thefront wall l5 may have upwardly projecting extensions for retaining themerchandise, such as the end portions 23 and a central portion 24 whichalways li e in the plane of the front wall. The mean height of the frontwall I5 is much less than that of the back wall "3, and the side wallsIt, I1 may be of any other suitable height, and are preferably steppedat 25 for easier access to the merchandise. A bottom Wall for thetubular member is preferably of the conventional releasably interlockedflap construction, including flaps 26, 21 and 28, so that one flap isconnected to each upright wall of the tubular member, as by fold linesshown at 29, 3t) and 3| which lie in a plane. The flap 26 connected tothe front wall I5 may be tapered away from said wall and may haveoppositely extending aligned tongues 32. The flaps 21 each have one edgealigned with a fold line 2| or 22, and an opposite edge 33 angular toform a tongue portion 34. These tongues 34 lie relatively closely to theflap 26. The flaps 28 have edges at 35, which may be formed by cut outsresulting in projections 36 which are used merely for added stiffness inthe assembled bottom wall, as will be described.

For assembling the bottom wall, which may be denoted as a whole as 31,the fiap 28 is first folded upward at 3|, to lie in a horizontal plane,then the flaps 21 are similarly folded upward on lines 30. It will nowresult that the angular parts at 33 will underlie the flap 28,'while theedges 38 will register with the edge 35 of flap 28, so that the tongues34 can lie in. the plane with or slightly above flap 28. In thisposition there is no interlocking. Now the flap 26 is folded upward onits line 29, and is pushed upward past the horizontal plane of its foldline. This causes flaps 21, and 28 to move correspondingly upward,separating the flap 28 from flaps 21 and leaving a gap along the entirelength of the edge 35. Through this gap the free end of fiap 26 ispushed upward to override the edge 35 and slip in over the adjacent partof flap 28 along its edge 35. Now all the flaps are permitted to drop tohorizontal, the edges 35 and 38 coming together and gripping the flap28, and latter underlying flaps 21 and overlying flap 26, with thetongues 32 engaging at their corners 39 on edges 38 rather closely tothe junction of edge 33 with edge 38. It is seen that each flap overliesone adjacent fiap and underlies another adjacent flap. The extensions 36and adjacent parts of flap 28 of course overlie flaps 21. The result isa very simple lock, whose particular merit is that it will not open ondownward pressure. Any other suitable bottom knockdown wall may besubstituted for that herein shown.

Resuming the description of the blank H, the back wall I8 may have aseries of slits, defining a tongue 40, and a pair of tongues 4| at ahigher elevation than the tongue 40. All of these tongues projectupwardly. The back wall l3 may be regarded as having a section 42connected thereto by a fold line 43, and having a downwardly concavedslit 45 from whose ends extend fold lines 46 to the edges of thesection. Folding on the lines 46 results in an upwardly projectingdisplay extension 41. When thus folded, another fold line 48 coincideswith the fold line 43 and provides a flap 49 located below 43 andadapted to engage the tongues 4| by insertion between the latter and thebody of the back wall H3, in front of the latter. In this position theconcave cut at 45 will be concealed in back of wall Hi.

The tubular element l3, clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is formed by aglued seam 56 and is provided with horizontal fold lines defining afront wall a back wall 52, a top wall 53 and a bottom wall 54. It may beopen at its opposite ends, which may abut the side walls |5, ll of thedisplay device. To retain it in position, the back wall 52 may have aslot 55 adapted to receive the tongue 4|] by pushing the latter slightlyfrontward and moving the element l2 downward. This engagement may limitdownward and lateral movement of the back wall of the element .rela tiveto the back wall of the member. But to avoid the collapse of theparallelogram afforded by element |2, additional engagement orsecurement must be afforded. This may be provided by causing the frontor bottom walls 5|, 54 of the element to rest on the bottom wall 31 ofthe display member. It is seen that the top wall 53 of the element formsan article supporting display shelf. To prevent the articles fromfalling off the shelf one or more tongues such as 56, 51 may extendupward from the front wall 5|, being cut out from the top wall, forinstance as at 58, and ina mannersimilar to that indicated at 45, 46,41. Thus a simple, rectangular strip of cardboard, formed with slit 55,openings as at 58, and score lines is merely folded and glued at 50 toproduce the element l2.

It is noteworthy that the element I2 is spaced rearward of the frontwall |5 to provide a compartment 59 for receiving merchandise asindicated in dot-dash lines at 6|] in Fig. 3. This merchandise is snuglyretained between the side walls l6, l1 and between the front wall l5 andthe element l2, whose front wall 5| acts as a reliable backing member,any pressure being transmitted to the back wall l8. For example, tworows of tobacco packages may be disposed side by side in compartment 59,each package being upright,

and the portion 24 overlapping both rows. The front wall |5 may carryadvertising or display indicia for these packages, and the price may beprominently shown on 24. Other articles or packages of tobacco may besimilarly disposed on shelf 53, as indicated by dot-dash lines 6|, andadvertising or display data or prices may be indicated on the parts 56,51 and on the portion 62. The latter may also carry the brand name ormanufacturer's name, etc. Since cardboard is finished on only one facethe portion 62 shows a finished display face, which is always frontward,because the section 42 need not be unfolded in packaging, so that thereis no opportunity for the retailer to make an error in setting up thedisplay device.

In Fig. 3 is shown a shipping device 63 embodying the invention. Thesame includes the merchandise 60, 6| set up in display position, whichis not disturbed in any way in the package. The device 63 is formed byfolding forwardly into horizontal position the upper part 63a of section42 on the coincident fold lines 43 and 48 to overlie the merchandise 6|.Then a tubular open ended member 64 having a glue joint at 65 is placedon the merchandise 60, against wall 5| and between the end walls l6, l1,to serve as a filler. Then a box 66 is pushed down to enclose thedisplay device and merchandise and filler 64, with the bottom wall 31 ofthe display device serving as a closure. Of course the top wall of thebox 66 may have releasably interlocked flaps like those of the wall 31,so that the box is collapsible. The filler is collapsible on itslongitudinal fold lines.

It will now be clear that when the retailer receives the package 63, hemerely removes the box 66 and member 64, then fold back section 63a, andthe device I0 is fully set up with its merchandise in place. Thisfolding of the part 63a on lines 43 and 48 is possible because theengagement with tongues 4| is of a lost motion character.

In Figs. 6, I and 8 is shown a modification 10 which is generally likethe display device l0, and which can be embodied in a package such as63, except that it is formed with a shelf such as 53 of the device IDthat is inclined and mounted in a different manner. The purpose of theinclination is to prevent thin upright articles of merchandise fromtoppling oif the shelf by causing them to tilt backward and slideagainst the front flange or wall of the shelf. The description will belimited to the features in which device 10 is different from device In,it being understood that in other respects the two devices are like inconstruction and is assembling.

From the upper portions of the side walls ll of the main display memberextend elements 12 each having three vertical fold lines l3, l4 and 75to provide with the side walls identical tubular sections. Each of thelatter thus includes a front wall 15, an inner wall 11 and a back wall18. Extending from the side walls H are covers 9 for closing the tops ofthe tubular sections 12, each cover having a tongue or flap 89 which isinserted into its tubular section and presses between the walls it and18 to prevent unfolding of the section, whereby no gluing at the wall 18is needed. The covers 19 may be slightly larger than the flaps 8b tooverlie the top edges of the tubular sections. The securement is aidedby the shelf device Bl which is fitted snugly between the opposed wallsll and is interlocked as by tongues 82 formed to lie in the plane of thefront wall 83 and engaged in slots 84 provided in the walls 17 near thefold lines I l. Thus the front wall 83 is supported by the tongues 82,although it may also rest on the bottom wall of the main display member,as in device Ill. The rear wall 85 may be at a higher elevation than thefront wall as determined by the tongue and slot lock 88 which is likethat at 4|, 55. Hence the shelf or top wall Bl is downwardly. inclined.When the thin upright articles are compactly arranged they stand uprightwithout difficulty, but as articles are removed, looseness developswhereby the articles slide downward on the shelf 81 up to the iiangeportion 88 which is like that at 56 or 51, the articles tiltingrearward. The structure shown is easily produced because element 8| is acollapsible parallelogram. This feature may be regarded as incorporatedalso in device In, in which the tongue 4| may be positioned higher up orthe slot 55 lowered.

I claim:

1. A display device including a tubular member having vertical foldlines defining front and back walls and side walls and having releasablyinterlocked flaps connected to said side walls for forming a bottom wallto prevent said member from collapsing on said fold lines, the back wallbeing of greater height than the front wall, and a tubular elementhaving horizontal fold lines whereby the element is collapsible, saidelement being located wholly between the front, back and side walls andresting directly on the bottom wall and being of greater height than thefront wall and of lesser height than the back wall, with the top of theelement forming a shelf for display merchandise, said element having arear wall closely adjacent to the back wall of the member, the elementbeing spaced from the front wall to thus define a compartment wherebyother display merchandise can be disposed in said compartment so as torest against the element as a backing member, said member and saidelement having cooperating releasably engaging tongue and slot means toengage the upper portion of the rear OH Nu wall of the element with theback wall of the member in a horizontal and in a vertical direction, tothus secure the element against lateral movement and collapse under theweight of merchandise resting on said shelf.

2. A display device according to claim 1 wherein the tongue is on theback wall of the member and projects upwardly in relatively rigidrelation thereto with the slot being in the rear wall of the element,whereby the latter is engageable with the tongue upon downward movementof the tubular element in course of insertion into the member.

3. A display device according to claim 1 wherein said back wall includesa top section 'reversely folded on itself to provide a part lying infront of and in direct contact with the main part of the back wall, thefolded section being normally upright with the front part of saidsection being adapted to carry advertising indicia, said front part andthe main part of the back wall having means for releasable flapinterengagement at the bottom edge of said front part above said shelf,said section having additional fold lines located approximately at theelevation of the top of the side walls and being foldable with the flapmeans in engaged position to provide a portion overlying,

and parallel to said shelf when the display device is used as a shippingcontainer member.

4. A display device including a tubular member having vertical foldlines defining front, back and side walls, said walls having releasablyinterlocked bottom flaps forming a bottom wall to prevent said memberfrom collapsing on said fold lines, the back wall being of greaterheight than the front wall, and a knockdown tubular element havinghorizontal fold lines defining a back wall, a front Wall and a top wallconstituting an article carrying display shelf, the back wall of themember and the back wall of the element having tongue and slotreleasable interengagement to support the back wall of the element incontact with the back wall of the member, said element being locatedbetween the front and back walls of the member and being rearwardlyspaced from the front wall of the member, with said shelf being spacedabove the bottom wall of the member whereby the said bottom wallprovides a merchandise display compartment in front of the shelf, thefront wall of the element having means for releasable engagement withthe member to support the former, whereby the element is disposed withits shelf in an operative position.

5. A display device according to claim! wherein the side walls of themember are provided with tubular upright portions confronting each otherand lying at opposite ends of the element, the front wall of saidelement having tongues and the tubular portions having slots releasablyengaging the tongues with the latter projecting into the tubularportions to thus afford the said releasable engagement with the memberfor supporting the front wall of the element.

6. A display device according to claim 4 wherein the elevation of thetongue and slot engagement at the back walls is such that the back wallof the element is at a different elevation than the front wall thereofto thus cause the said shelf to slope.

SYDNEY G. SILBERSTEIN.

